Cost of College Calculator

A majority of young people aspire to attend college and their parents typically support that decision by placing value and priority on higher education. College planning almost always includes a conversation regarding the cost of tuition and the potential contribution from various financial aid sources. These funds are basically used to cover tuition and perhaps books but there are other fees such as room and board that also need to be discussed. The total cost of college calculator can help students create an accurate picture of college and prepare students and parents alike for the estimated financial obligations that college entails.

Building a Cost of College Calculator

The template is quite easy to use and includes a number of different factors that are relevant to parents who establish a college savings account. Regardless of the age of the child when the savings plan begins, contributions from all sources are still considered as line items in the cost of college calculator. The free template can be downloaded here for free and parents can begin working on their college savings goals without leaving this page. Individuals can customize the template by adding special contributions or expenses that are expected to impact their college savings plan.

Creating a Comprehensive College Budget

Planning for college may include creating a cost of college calculator that covers more than one child who will be entering college around the same time. Even with these unusual circumstances, a cost of college calculator has room to accommodate the various situations that may arise when a college savings plan is put into practice. Some of the fields that are already included in the template include:

Age of student

Number of years to save

Estimated tuition cost per year

Estimated family contribution per year

Estimated student aid contributions per year

Because the template is so easy to customize, users find that they can quickly make adjustments to create hypothetical scenarios that would potentially alter their ability to consistently save the same amount for college each month.